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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT SCOTT, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO LOUIS N. D. WILLIAMS, OF SAME PLACE.

DRAWER'S OF KNIT FABRIC.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,641, dated March 4, 1890.

Application filed November 8, 1889. Serial No. 329,682. (No specimens.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT W. SCOTT, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Drawers of Knit Fabric, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to provide a pair of drawers of knit fabric having a ribbed elastic waist and hip portion and shaped legs of a more acceptable character than those usually formed in garments of this class, and this object I attain in the manner hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a view of the body portion of a pair of drawers made in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a view of the drawers complete. .Fig. 3 is a view of a pair of drawers of different character also embodying my invention, and Figs. 4 and 5 are diagrams illustrating certain features of construction of the legs.

Drawers having waist and hip portions of ribbed fabric are desirable because of the elasticity of such fabric, which causes it to adapt itself to wide differences of conformation of the waist and hips. Heretofore, however, such drawers have been of ribbed fabric throughout, the legs being out and sewed in order to give them the proper shape, as any attempt to shape the ribbed web by narrowing or widening it during its manufacture is too expensive to be practicable in ordinary practice. 'Iuck-stitching has also. been re sorted to in order to increase the diameter of certain portions of the leg-tubes; but the use of these tuck-stitches involves a sacrifice of the desired uniformity of texture and appearance of the fabric in. the leg portions of the drawers. ,Moreover, the shaping of the legs in this way is imperfect. Further than this, ribbed webs stretch very easily, so that after a time the legs lose their shape in those portions such as the knees which are sub 3' ected to continual stretching when the wearer is seated or is walking.

In carrying out my invention, therefore, I

7 use ribbed fabric for the body of the garment,

but for the legs I employ tubes B of plain knitted fabric, for by this means I preserve therein. the back to the front, as shown in Fig. 2, or

the advantages of the elastic ribbed web for the body of the drawers and provide the latter with legs perfectly shaped both at the thighs a and ankles b, the legs being, if desired, without any seams and of uniform appearance throughout, that is to say, from the hips to the ankles, the latter being finished in most cases by short tubes cl of ribbed fabric. The plain webs are, moreover, not so easily stretched as-ribbed webs, and conse quently the legs retain their proper shape much better when made from such plain webs.

The ribbed body-web of the garment may be of uniform diameter. and stitch throughout, the elasticity of the web being relied upon to insure the snug fitting of the same to the person, or the body of the drawers may be shaped as desired by the employment of tuck-stitches in a portion or portions of the same. The body is preferably made in the first instance in the form of a tube A, as shown in Fig. 1, for instance, this tube being then slit to form the desired opening or openings For instance, it may be slit from may be slitin front and may have a crotchpiece f inserted, as shown in Fig. 3. The stitches around the lower edge of the tubeSo are then run onto the needles of a machine, whereby shaped tubular seamless legs of plain fabric may be produced, so as to form a practically seamless union between the body and leg portions of the drawers, or the legs may be made separately and subsequently united to the body portion on the usual seaming-machine. lVhile it is preferable to thus make the legs in shaped tubular seamless form, they may, if desired, be made in the form of fiato fashioned selvaged webs and the selvage edges may then be united, the union being practically seamless, or the webs may even in some cases be cut and sewed to form the shaped legs In the fiat fashioned web the courses of stitches are c0ntinuous' that is to say, they extend back and forth throughout the web, as shown in Fig. 4 ,while in the webs which are knitted in tubular form and shaped during the knitting the courses of stitches I00 .are continuous circular courses, as shown,

for instance, in Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Drawers of knit fabric having a body composed of ribbed web and shaped legs of plain web, substantially as specified.

2. Drawers of knit fabric having a body composed of ribbed web and shaped legs of plain web having continuous courses of stitches, substantially as specified.

3. Drawers of knit fabric having a body composed of ribbed web and shaped seamless legs of plain web having continuous circular courses of stitches, substantially as specified.

4. Drawers of knit fabric having a body composed of ribbed web and shaped legs of plain web, forming a seamless union with the ribbed body, substantially as specified.

5. l )rawers of knit fabric having abody composed of ribbed web and shaped seamless legs of plain web, forming a seamless union with the ribbed body, substantially as spcci tied.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ROBERT \V. SCOT \Vitnesscs:

R. SCHLEICHTJR, ll'nnnv SMITH. 

